Committee advances grant program to fund school crossing guards

The Appropriations Committee passed an amended version of Senate File 123, which would create a competitive grant program allowing schools to apply for funds to support crossing guards and other student-route safety measures.

Senator Bennett, the bill sponsor, told the committee the proposal responds to safety incidents in her district, saying, “we have found that crossing guards and getting kids to and from school has been a safety issue in my district. There's been 1 student who was killed in a school crosswalk and just recently there was another child that was hit going home from school.”

Under the bill as amended, the grant program would permit schools to apply for awards not to exceed $10,000 per school per year. Section 2 identifies an appropriation of $4,900,000 from the Public School Foundation Program to the Department of Education for the grant program, with not more than $1,650,000 expended in each school year. The bill as drafted would fund the program in the current appropriation year and the next biennium; sponsors said that structure gives roughly three years to monitor whether schools use the program and whether it is effective.

Application requirements listed in the bill would require a school district to submit a proposal documenting the need at specific school intersections; the number of hours and number of volunteers or school district employees who will serve as crossing guards; training and education requirements for volunteers and employees acting as crossing guards; and an itemized list of equipment and prices for items to be purchased with grant funds. The bill requires submissions to the Department of Education no later than Aug. 1 of each applicable school year.

Senator Larson asked whether the grant requires any local match; Bennett said, “Currently, as the bill is written, there is no match.” Senator Smith sought additional detail about the expenses districts incur and how the grants would be applied to pay crossing guards and equipment.

Senator Ruh offered an amendment to remove the FY2026 and FY2027 appropriation lines, proposing the committee fund the program for the current year only and return to the regular budget process later for additional funding. Ruh said the change would allow more testimony and review by school districts before committing multi‑year funding. The amendment carried, and the committee recorded five "aye" votes to pass the bill as amended.

The committee’s action advances the bill out of the Appropriations Committee; sponsors said the amendment is intended to allow the Legislature to reassess multi‑year funding after additional input from districts.